About me

St. Louis is a city divided by racial segregation. Its infamous “Delmar Divide” splits St. Louis into separate Black and White sections, north and south of Delmar Boulevard. I lived my whole life one block from Delmar. The racial divide aligns closely with stark differences in public education. I experienced this as a student in elementary and middle school, as a basketball player travelling to scores of local high schools for games; as a participant in Youth Leadership St. Louis (YLSL) learning about local challenges like healthcare, housing, and education; and as a teacher’s assistant at Columbia Elementary, an inner-city school north of Delmar.

Here at Occidental College – some 1,800 miles from St. Louis – I’m learning how schools can better serve students and families. As a third-grade teacher’s assistant at Buchanan Street Elementary in Eagle Rock, California, I learned how dual immersion approaches can be a solution to educational inequality, reinforcing a student’s cultural and linguistic identity while also promoting high academic achievement across multiple languages and content areas. As a research assistant at USC’s Rossier School of Education, I am learning about the importance of students’ social relationships for future life outcomes and upward mobility. As a peer writing adviser in Occidental’s Writing Center, I work individually and in first-year classes to improve writing among students from diverse backgrounds and with varying levels of writing experience, confidence, and skill. I still have much to learn but am committed to applying what I learn to impact the public good in St. Louis and beyond.